14 Cloud Security Risks, Threats and Challenges in 2025

Passkeys reduce the vulnerability further, as they make stolen credentials as good as useless. 

Set up default security settings and conditional access for more complicated environments when adopting MFA. 

MFA stops most password-based attacks, and cybercriminals are aware of this. They change tactics and attack systems differently. They're now targeting: 

• Infrastructure to maintain persistent access. 
• Adversary-in-the-Middle (AiTM) phishing and token theft (from devices, networks or logs) to bypass MFA. 
• Abandoned, unmonitored, or overprivileged cloud apps to get to sensitive data. 

Advanced monitoring and AI threat detection help counter identity infrastructure attacks to detect unusual activity and find threats. Also, keep an eye on access control and identity infrastructure configuration changes.

2. Phishing and Business Email Compromise (BEC) 

Stolen credentials create a lot of havoc. But… how can someone steal credentials? You ask. 

While possible in many ways, these two methods account for most incidents: phishing and business email compromise.

• In a phishing attack, the goal is often to target numerous people rather than just one individual. Both phishing and business email compromise rely heavily on deception. In phishing, attackers often create fake websites that closely mimic legitimate ones or other phishing methods such as sending an attachment containing malware, such as a keystroke logger, which records the victim's credentials when they type them in (info stealer). SaaS-based emails, developer tools, CAPTCHA systems, cloud storage, click tracking, etc. have all been weaponised for various malicious activities. 
• Business email compromise (BCE) is usually aimed at just one person, typically someone in the C-suite, such as a CEO, CIO, or CFO since they have access to critical systems or have a certain level of authority. So, when an attacker gets in control of their account, they can cause damage. Business email compromise works by impersonation, such as by crafting a highly personalised and believable email, setting up a trap for high executives to fall into. For example, when a CFO receives a fake email from the CEO or a senior employee requesting login credentials to approve a transaction.

3. Insecure APIs and Interfaces 

Insecure APIs and interfaces can expose cloud services to vulnerabilities. APIs are the backbone of processing and are designed to facilitate data access and integration. Put simply, APIs are like the doorway to your cloud application; allowing applications to talk to each other. Without proper controls, these APIs are vulnerable to injection attacks. In 2023, 29% of all web attacks targeted APIs, making them a prime target for cybercriminals. 

APIs also play a big part in software supply chain security. Since cloud environments rely on layers of software, a compromised external API can be an entry point for attackers to get into your systems. The complicated web of dependencies in cloud software makes it easy for security gaps to go unnoticed.  

APIs and UIs are vulnerable for many reasons: improper authentication, lack of encryption, poor session management, outdated or unpatched software, etc. The severity of insecure interfaces in the cloud depends on the system, existing security controls, and how quickly the vulnerabilities are fixed. The risk level varies based on API usage, data associated and response to threats. The most common outcome is unintended exposure of sensitive or private data due to unsecured APIs. 

All in all, organisations must have complete visibility into their internal and external APIs.  

4. Misconfigurations 

Misconfigurations are a common IaaS security risk where cloud resources aren’t set up correctly with the required security settings. Human errors account for 99% of cloud security errors. A small, misconfigured component can have a dramatic impact on cloud security and lead to a ripple effect in other assets. It takes just one click or incorrect setting for data to be spread all around the web. This makes it an extreme risk to any organisation. Examples include handling permission controls the wrong way and leaving passwords default.

Regular audits and using automated configuration tools can help prevent this problem - such as native or a third-party Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) solution. In Microsoft Azure, you should enable Defender for Cloud, a comprehensive tool that provides security posture management and threat protection. It assesses your environment's security state and provides recommendations for improvement.

5. Data Breaches 

Hackers are often after one thing: data. This is one of the most significant concerns. And why wouldn't they target the one place where they could potentially steal tons of it?  

A data breach occurs when information is accessed without authorisation. Data breaches are becoming more prevalent as more organisations migrate to the cloud. These cloud providers store vast amounts of data, making them attractive to cybercriminals.

To mitigate the risks associated with storing data in the cloud, you must ensure data is encrypted and access is strictly controlled.

6. Data loss 

Cloud-based systems can fall victim to data loss, which can occur due to accidental or intentional deletion, a data breach, a natural disaster, or a systemwide malfunction. Truly protecting your documents means reviewing your CSP's backup strategy to ensure steps are in place to guarantee the cyber safety of your digital assets. Implementing robust backup solutions and disaster recovery plans is essential for data protection. 

Top Cloud Security Threats

7. Denial of Service - DoS/DDoS Attacks

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a cyberattack that floods a website or online service with massive traffic from multiple sources, aiming to disrupt or disable it. A successful Denial of Service (DoS) or DDoS attack may set various cloud services and resources up for failure. They could disrupt cloud availability, performance, and service level agreements between a cloud provider, its CSP, and their customer. Not to forget the downtime costs, revenue loss, and reputational damage. 

Application layer attacks are on the rise, becoming stealthier, more sophisticated, and harder to mitigate than network-level attacks. To withstand them, you must reduce the exposure of your apps over the public internet, apply a defence-in-depth strategy and if possible; integrate DDoS simulations in the software development lifecycle.

8. Insider Threats 

Insider threats refer to those who already have access to your cloud network. As the name itself reveals – the threats come from inside. They involve malicious or negligent actions by (ex) employees, contractors, vendors, or anyone with authorised, active, and authentic access to your cloud environment, who often seek revenge. 

It can also be users who ignore the cloud security rules you’ve put in place to protect your cloud assets and data. Think about employees sharing files that shouldn’t be shared outside the company network, or giving access to other when they shouldn’t. Start by managing how people within your immediate circle use it, and implementing strict access controls and monitoring user activities can help mitigate the associated risks.

9. Shadow IT 

You can't protect what you can't see, which rings true for cloud security. Shadow IT is any information technology employees use without IT knowledge or approval. This includes peer-to-peer collaboration tools, messaging apps, personal laptops, phones, or tablets. The rapid migration to cloud services and increasing remote working have made Shadow IT a prevalent issue, exposing organisations to security hazards. 

10. Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) 

APTs are a significant threat to the cloud. APTs are stealthy, long-term cyber-attacks by skilled attackers or teams that aim to get continuous access to a network to steal sensitive data. These elite hackers get into systems, establish a hidden foothold and gradually exfiltrate data, often staying undetected till it’s too late. They use tactics like ransomware, extortion, zero-day exploits, phishing, credential theft, wiper attacks and supply chain compromises. 

Not addressing APTs in cloud services can lead to weak security, data loss, operational disruption, financial penalties and reputational damage – all of which can fatally impact business continuity and customer trust. So, get prepared for the worst before it happens.

Cloud Security Challenges 

11. Skill Gap 

There aren’t enough cloud security people. The IBM Data Breach Report shows that over half of the breached organisations lacked security staff: highlighting the importance of having in-house security professionals equipped with internal knowledge to be a crucial factor for protecting your cloud assets. Usually there is a lack of awareness or a lack of competence on cloud security behind every major data breach. 

We cannot treat modern cloud security like taking what’s working on-prem and copying and pasting it to the cloud. It requires a whole new mindset, a multi-layered and defence-in-depth approach, where we ideally tackle security as early in the software development lifecycle, better known as “shifting left”. 

12. Not Understanding Shared Responsibility 

Many organisations assume that migrating on-prem or legacy applications to the cloud means the cloud provider takes complete care of your security, but this is a myth.

Cloud computing does not automatically ensure security controls and privacy. As the word itself reveals, the responsibility in the cloud becomes a shared one between you (as customer) and the cloud provider (e.g. Microsoft Azure). 

The exact responsibilities you have depend on which cloud computing model you adopt: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), or Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). You can see the responsibilities per model compared to on-prem here below: 

13. Increased Complexity (Multi-Cloud environments) 

When we talk security, it would be best if your business operated in just one cloud provider platform. However, most operate in multi-cloud environments: 39% use a hybrid cloud and 33% a multi-cloud strategy to enhance scalability, access diverse services, etc. The problem is that these environments are often scattered globally, potentially with different teams taking ownership of different cloud platforms, making security a major challenge. It also increases the knowledge required to administrate, maintain, and configure with consistency. It leads to a lack of visibility, which is up next. 

14. Limited visibility and observability 

A lack of cloud visibility poses a significant cloud security threat, especially since customers don’t own the underlying infrastructure. This lack of control increases cloud computing risks, making detecting and responding to threats harder. Fortinet's 2022 Cybersecurity Insiders Report identified lack of visibility (49%) as a key limitation to cloud adoption. 

A major challenge is the sheer volume of data (login attempts, system logs, application events, etc.). Sorting through this data to identify potential security threats is an overwhelming task. This is where AI-driven solutions are proving essential, helping filter through massive datasets, detect anomalies, and identify compromised systems. With AI-powered 360-degree monitoring, organisations can enhance visibility, detect security risks faster, and better manage cloud security. This is one of the cloud security trends forming in 2024 and is expected to become more critical in 2025. 

5 Best Practices for Cloud Environment Security 

Consider the following cloud security best practices to mitigate cloud security challenges and cloud security risks:

1. Use Strong Encryption 

Firstly, to protect data at rest and in transit: you must have encryption in place. If things go sideways and an attacker gets the data, they can’t read or use it without the decryption key. Strong encryption protocols like AES-256 for storage and TLS 1.3 or higher for data transmission will prevent unauthorised access. 

2. Implement Access Controls 

Use MFA with role-based access control (RBAC), conditional access, and strong password policies to lock down and protect accounts and your data. 

3. Adopt Zero Trust 

Adopt the Zero Trust model based on the principles of least privilege, assume a breach will happen, and verify explicitly. 

• Least privilege: Users and devices are only granted what they need to do their job, reducing the attack surface and preventing lateral movement in the network. 
• Assume breach: You can’t wait for a breach to happen; you need to prevent and anticipate cloud security threats and risks. So, assume a breach will happen and set up strong security controls, segment your networks, limit access and use real-time threat detection to contain and minimise damage. 
• Verify explicitly: Authentication and authorisation should be verified continuously using multiple factors such as MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication), device health checks and behaviour-based risk assessments. 

4. Regularly Monitor and Audit 

Constantly monitor and audit your cloud environment. Continuous monitoring helps detect unusual activities and potential threats early on. Utilise cloud-native monitoring tools or Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions to keep track of activities in your cloud environment.

Microsoft Sentinel is a great SIEM/SOAR and Cloud-Native feature that helps you collect, analyse, and respond to security events in real-time. 

Organisations should also: 

• Log and analyse access attempts, failed login attempts, and privilege escalations. 
• Conduct periodic security audits to ensure compliance with policies. 
• Set up automated alerts for anomalies and unusual behaviours. 

By implementing these best practices, organisations can strengthen their cloud security posture, reduce risk, and enhance protection against modern cyber threats. 

5. Leverage Cloud Provider Native Security Tools and Services 

Many cloud providers have built-in security features and solutions such as threat detection and automated compliance checks. In Azure you can use Microsoft Defender for Cloud for threat protection, vulnerability management and security posture monitoring. For compliance you can use Microsoft Purview and Azure Policy to enforce security standards, manage data governance and ensure regulatory compliance.  

Closing thoughts 

Remember, there is no such thing as a silver bullet for cloud computing security. Instead, we must approach cloud security as an ongoing process that requires vigilance and proactive measures, as discussed in this article. Adopt a multi-layered security strategy along with Zero Trust and include strong access controls, encryption, continuous monitoring, and incident response, and such.